[b]Part 16 - Into the Fire - Max POV[/b]
Mother teach me to walk again.
Milk and honey so intoxicating.
I'm reunited.
Into the fire,
I am the spark.
Into the night,
I yearn for comfort.
Open the doors that lead on into Eden.
Don't want no cheap disguise.
I follow the signs marked back to the beginning,
No more compromise.
And into the fire,
I'm reunited.
Into the fire,
I am the spark.
Into the night,
I yearn for comfort.
Fuel the water that carries me to the sea.
You I see as my security.
Into the fire,
I'm reunited.
Into the fire,
I am the spark.
Into the night,
I yearn for comfort.
I will stare at the sun until its light doesn't blind me.
I will walk unto the fire until its heat doesn't burn me.
And I will feed the fire.
Into the fire,
I'm reunited.
Into the fire,
I am the spark.
Into the night,
I yearn for comfort.
Into the fire.
Sarah McLachlan
I know that, in my hand, I am holding the key to everything.
I hear Isabel gasp behind me. "Max! Why is that still here?"
"It's the granolith." I say, sure I am right, amazed that I know it.
"What?" This comes from Michael, who reaches around and grabs it from me. "That thing we sent Tess off in was the granolith."
"I thought we agreed to call [I]her[/I] the murderess from now on." I hear Maria mutter from nearby, but she isn't really talking to anyone. I notice Kyle flinch at it though.
I stare at the crystal sitting in Michael's hand. We are [I]all[/I] staring at it.
"I think Max is right." Isabel whispers finally. "I remember it."
I begin to shake my head. "How could we have been so stupid?" I ask Isabel. "Lonnie told me in New York that the granolith was some sort of religious icon - like the holy grail. Why on Earth would our planet worship a spaceship? This [I]has[/I] to be it."
"Wait! Wait." Michael holds his hands up, almost dropping the crystal in the process. Isabel takes it away from him, glares. "If this is the granolith, what the hell does it do?"
"I think..." I pause, searching my mind frantically. When I had first touched it, I had known instantly what it did, but the memories from that other life have already begun to fade. "I think it has something to do with time. Timelines." I add when everyone just looks at me like they have no idea what I'm talking about.
I don't blame them. I don't think [I]I[/I] know what I'm talking about either. But I do know that this crystal is here because it has something to do with Liz's disappearance.
Isabel and Michael are looking at each other, both with frowns on their faces, like they too are trying to remember exactly what it is we know about this relic. I almost can't believe that we didn't try this before - actually [I]remember[/I]. Although the one time I had remembered, with Tess, had led to disaster, it still was the easiest way to actually get answers.
But, then, we have [I]never[/I] been in the habit of taking the easy road - or the logical road for that matter. Leapers - that's what we all are.
Supremely ironic, but true. Always thinking we're cautious, but really impulsive and head-strong. All three of us. The evidence of it stretches back in my memory like a long line of uninterrupted stupidity.
Me healing Liz. I would never regret it, but there was no question it had [I]not been the safest course. And then there were all those kids from Christmas. Oh yeah, [I]and[/I] going off to New York with Lonnie and Rath. Real smart, that move.
I choose to not even [I]address[/I] the subject of Tess. You know it, I know it. Let's just move on.
Then there's Michael. Shall we list [I]his[/I] offenses? There was the time he kidnapped Maria and took her to Marathon, not to mention his various and sundry other illegal maneuvers. You'd think that for someone who was trying to keep a secret, the least he could have done over the last two years was try and stay out of jail. But, apparently not.
Even Isabel, the one out of all of us who most wanted to be human and thus wanted to keep our secret, has the weird tendency to put herself in ludicrous positions. Grant Sorenson for example. What the hell had [I]that[/I] been about? Both Michael and I had known that he was bad news from the get-go, but Isabel had dated him anyway.
I am beginning to wonder if this character trait that we all share - impulsiveness - but which is strongest in me, might not have been [I]why[/I] I lost my throne in my last life. I remember what Larek told me at the summit in New York - that I was always impatient, never willing to wait to change things...
I have been making all the same mistakes over again. I try to mold my life into what I want it be, rather than waiting for it to unfold as it is [I]meant[/I] to, and I have screwed it up every time.
It has only ever been Liz who looks before she leaps. It is why we compliment each other so well. Balance. It has always been about that with us.
But even Liz had been known to do stupid things in the name of love. She had [I]literally[/I] jumped off a bridge for me after all. Which only reinforces how strong she is - because jumping off a bridge was only a last resort for Liz.
For me, it would have been the first choice.
I realize now, more than ever, that I can never be the king my planet needs without her by my side.
Which is why, I am guessing, Tess has taken her. To stop that. It is also probably why Khivar made a deal with Nasedo in the first place. Somehow he [I]knew[/I] that making me human was going to help me to find exactly what I needed to take back my throne.
Liz. She's [I]all[/I] I'll ever need.
"But what does it have to do with Liz?" Maria speaks up now. "Because I can tell that's what you're thinking Max."
It [I]is[/I] what I am thinking of course, but I don't know why. Try as I might, I can't [I]remember[/I] exactly how the damn thing works...
"Future Max used it to come back here." I am muttering to myself, trying to work it out. I see Isabel and Michael exchange a confused look, because, of course, they still don't know about [I]that[/I] whole fiasco. "It activated the spaceship..." I look up. "And it was in Las Cruces. Alex had it when he was translating the book."
"So back to Leanna?" Michael demands.
"Back to the mysterious Lazar." I reply. "Or, as we know him better, Sean Deluca. We need to find him."
"Find Khivar?" Isabel whispers. "Max, do you think we're ready?"
"We don't know for sure that he's Khivar." I tell her. "And the more I think about it, the more I'm sure he's not." I pause. "There is something familiar about him, but it's not [I]that[/I]."
"Okay, clearly it's time to split up again." The Sheriff steps forward. He has been off the phone with Amy Deluca for several minutes and has just been listening quietly. "Amy doesn't remember Sean at all anymore." He informs us. "It's like he never existed."
"Maybe Tess is too preoccupied with Liz to keep up the mindwarp." I shrug.
"I still don't understand how that chick can be this powerful Maxwell." Michael speaks up again. "Wouldn't we have known? And, if she is, does it mean we are too?"
"I'm not sure that it's all her Michael. But, I think we might be."
I know that I am right too. Even being in the presence of the crystal again...Now that I am aware of what it really is, I [I]feel[/I] stronger in some way. Like I have taken the first step back to who I used to be.
Zan.
But not just Zan. Zan plus something more.
And I know exactly what that something more is. Because, as I take the granolith back from my sister, I feel her.
Liz.
This crystal will explain what happened to her. We just need to figure out how the hell it works. And what [I]specifically[/I] it does. I know I am right that it can affect time somehow, but I don't exactly understand how or why...And I [I]need[/I] to know.
"Splitting up sounds like a good plan." I tell the Sheriff, because everyone is waiting for me to make a decision. "We need to find Sean. I don't want [I]anyone[/I] confronting him." I add. "We just need to find him."
I carefully place the granolith in the inside pocket of my jacket.
"What about Liz Max?" Maria asks worriedly as we move towards the cars again.
"She's okay." I know I am right. The granolith, sitting right next to my heart, is telling me so. "But we have stuff to do before she can come back to us."
"Stuff?" Maria asks perplexed.
"Yeah." I smile sadly. "We need to find out exactly what the hell happened to Alex before she can - and we need to find my son."
I know its true. It's what my weird dream about Alex and Sean and Liz had been trying to tell me. The pieces are finally coming together.
"How do you know this Max?" Maria is climbing into my parents' car with me. I'm not really sure why - maybe being with me makes her feel closer to Liz or something. No one seems to want to argue about it though. I see that Michael and Isabel are together in Maria's Jetta and Kyle and the Sheriff are in the Mustang.
"Alex told me."
She stops talking after this, like she's not surprised.
Mother teach me to walk again.
Milk and honey so intoxicating.
I'm reunited.
Into the fire,
I am the spark.
Into the night,
I yearn for comfort.
Open the doors that lead on into Eden.
Don't want no cheap disguise.
I follow the signs marked back to the beginning,
No more compromise.
And into the fire,
I'm reunited.
Into the fire,
I am the spark.
Into the night,
I yearn for comfort.
Fuel the water that carries me to the sea.
You I see as my security.
Into the fire,
I'm reunited.
Into the fire,
I am the spark.
Into the night,
I yearn for comfort.
I will stare at the sun until its light doesn't blind me.
I will walk unto the fire until its heat doesn't burn me.
And I will feed the fire.
Into the fire,
I'm reunited.
Into the fire,
I am the spark.
Into the night,
I yearn for comfort.
Into the fire.
Sarah McLachlan
I know that, in my hand, I am holding the key to everything.
I hear Isabel gasp behind me. "Max! Why is that still here?"
"It's the granolith." I say, sure I am right, amazed that I know it.
"What?" This comes from Michael, who reaches around and grabs it from me. "That thing we sent Tess off in was the granolith."
"I thought we agreed to call [I]her[/I] the murderess from now on." I hear Maria mutter from nearby, but she isn't really talking to anyone. I notice Kyle flinch at it though.
I stare at the crystal sitting in Michael's hand. We are [I]all[/I] staring at it.
"I think Max is right." Isabel whispers finally. "I remember it."
I begin to shake my head. "How could we have been so stupid?" I ask Isabel. "Lonnie told me in New York that the granolith was some sort of religious icon - like the holy grail. Why on Earth would our planet worship a spaceship? This [I]has[/I] to be it."
"Wait! Wait." Michael holds his hands up, almost dropping the crystal in the process. Isabel takes it away from him, glares. "If this is the granolith, what the hell does it do?"
"I think..." I pause, searching my mind frantically. When I had first touched it, I had known instantly what it did, but the memories from that other life have already begun to fade. "I think it has something to do with time. Timelines." I add when everyone just looks at me like they have no idea what I'm talking about.
I don't blame them. I don't think [I]I[/I] know what I'm talking about either. But I do know that this crystal is here because it has something to do with Liz's disappearance.
Isabel and Michael are looking at each other, both with frowns on their faces, like they too are trying to remember exactly what it is we know about this relic. I almost can't believe that we didn't try this before - actually [I]remember[/I]. Although the one time I had remembered, with Tess, had led to disaster, it still was the easiest way to actually get answers.
But, then, we have [I]never[/I] been in the habit of taking the easy road - or the logical road for that matter. Leapers - that's what we all are.
Supremely ironic, but true. Always thinking we're cautious, but really impulsive and head-strong. All three of us. The evidence of it stretches back in my memory like a long line of uninterrupted stupidity.
Me healing Liz. I would never regret it, but there was no question it had [I]not been the safest course. And then there were all those kids from Christmas. Oh yeah, [I]and[/I] going off to New York with Lonnie and Rath. Real smart, that move.
I choose to not even [I]address[/I] the subject of Tess. You know it, I know it. Let's just move on.
Then there's Michael. Shall we list [I]his[/I] offenses? There was the time he kidnapped Maria and took her to Marathon, not to mention his various and sundry other illegal maneuvers. You'd think that for someone who was trying to keep a secret, the least he could have done over the last two years was try and stay out of jail. But, apparently not.
Even Isabel, the one out of all of us who most wanted to be human and thus wanted to keep our secret, has the weird tendency to put herself in ludicrous positions. Grant Sorenson for example. What the hell had [I]that[/I] been about? Both Michael and I had known that he was bad news from the get-go, but Isabel had dated him anyway.
I am beginning to wonder if this character trait that we all share - impulsiveness - but which is strongest in me, might not have been [I]why[/I] I lost my throne in my last life. I remember what Larek told me at the summit in New York - that I was always impatient, never willing to wait to change things...
I have been making all the same mistakes over again. I try to mold my life into what I want it be, rather than waiting for it to unfold as it is [I]meant[/I] to, and I have screwed it up every time.
It has only ever been Liz who looks before she leaps. It is why we compliment each other so well. Balance. It has always been about that with us.
But even Liz had been known to do stupid things in the name of love. She had [I]literally[/I] jumped off a bridge for me after all. Which only reinforces how strong she is - because jumping off a bridge was only a last resort for Liz.
For me, it would have been the first choice.
I realize now, more than ever, that I can never be the king my planet needs without her by my side.
Which is why, I am guessing, Tess has taken her. To stop that. It is also probably why Khivar made a deal with Nasedo in the first place. Somehow he [I]knew[/I] that making me human was going to help me to find exactly what I needed to take back my throne.
Liz. She's [I]all[/I] I'll ever need.
"But what does it have to do with Liz?" Maria speaks up now. "Because I can tell that's what you're thinking Max."
It [I]is[/I] what I am thinking of course, but I don't know why. Try as I might, I can't [I]remember[/I] exactly how the damn thing works...
"Future Max used it to come back here." I am muttering to myself, trying to work it out. I see Isabel and Michael exchange a confused look, because, of course, they still don't know about [I]that[/I] whole fiasco. "It activated the spaceship..." I look up. "And it was in Las Cruces. Alex had it when he was translating the book."
"So back to Leanna?" Michael demands.
"Back to the mysterious Lazar." I reply. "Or, as we know him better, Sean Deluca. We need to find him."
"Find Khivar?" Isabel whispers. "Max, do you think we're ready?"
"We don't know for sure that he's Khivar." I tell her. "And the more I think about it, the more I'm sure he's not." I pause. "There is something familiar about him, but it's not [I]that[/I]."
"Okay, clearly it's time to split up again." The Sheriff steps forward. He has been off the phone with Amy Deluca for several minutes and has just been listening quietly. "Amy doesn't remember Sean at all anymore." He informs us. "It's like he never existed."
"Maybe Tess is too preoccupied with Liz to keep up the mindwarp." I shrug.
"I still don't understand how that chick can be this powerful Maxwell." Michael speaks up again. "Wouldn't we have known? And, if she is, does it mean we are too?"
"I'm not sure that it's all her Michael. But, I think we might be."
I know that I am right too. Even being in the presence of the crystal again...Now that I am aware of what it really is, I [I]feel[/I] stronger in some way. Like I have taken the first step back to who I used to be.
Zan.
But not just Zan. Zan plus something more.
And I know exactly what that something more is. Because, as I take the granolith back from my sister, I feel her.
Liz.
This crystal will explain what happened to her. We just need to figure out how the hell it works. And what [I]specifically[/I] it does. I know I am right that it can affect time somehow, but I don't exactly understand how or why...And I [I]need[/I] to know.
"Splitting up sounds like a good plan." I tell the Sheriff, because everyone is waiting for me to make a decision. "We need to find Sean. I don't want [I]anyone[/I] confronting him." I add. "We just need to find him."
I carefully place the granolith in the inside pocket of my jacket.
"What about Liz Max?" Maria asks worriedly as we move towards the cars again.
"She's okay." I know I am right. The granolith, sitting right next to my heart, is telling me so. "But we have stuff to do before she can come back to us."
"Stuff?" Maria asks perplexed.
"Yeah." I smile sadly. "We need to find out exactly what the hell happened to Alex before she can - and we need to find my son."
I know its true. It's what my weird dream about Alex and Sean and Liz had been trying to tell me. The pieces are finally coming together.
"How do you know this Max?" Maria is climbing into my parents' car with me. I'm not really sure why - maybe being with me makes her feel closer to Liz or something. No one seems to want to argue about it though. I see that Michael and Isabel are together in Maria's Jetta and Kyle and the Sheriff are in the Mustang.
"Alex told me."
She stops talking after this, like she's not surprised.
